Portal:Language
Introduction
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ca/Tepantitla_mural%2C_Ballplayer_A_%28Daquella_manera%29.jpg/200px-Tepantitla_mural%2C_Ballplayer_A_%28Daquella_manera%29.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/Cuneiform_script2.png/150px-Cuneiform_script2.png)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b4/Girls_learning_sign_language.jpg/200px-Girls_learning_sign_language.jpg)
Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing. Human language is characterized by its cultural and historical diversity, with significant variations observed between cultures and across time. Human languages possess the properties of productivity and displacement, which enable the creation of an infinite number of sentences, and the ability to refer to objects, events, and ideas that are not immediately present in the discourse. The use of human language relies on social convention and is acquired through learning.
Estimates of the number of human languages in the world vary between 5,000 and 7,000. Precise estimates depend on an arbitrary distinction (dichotomy) established between languages and dialects. Natural languages are spoken, signed, or both; however, any language can be encoded into secondary media using auditory, visual, or tactile stimuli – for example, writing, whistling, signing, or braille. In other words, human language is modality-independent, but written or signed language is the way to inscribe or encode the natural human speech or gestures.
Depending on philosophical perspectives regarding the definition of language and meaning, when used as a general concept, "language" may refer to the cognitive ability to learn and use systems of complex communication, or to describe the set of rules that makes up these systems, or the set of utterances that can be produced from those rules. All languages rely on the process of semiosis to relate signs to particular meanings. Oral, manual and tactile languages contain a phonological system that governs how symbols are used to form sequences known as words or morphemes, and a syntactic system that governs how words and morphemes are combined to form phrases and utterances.
The scientific study of language is called linguistics. Critical examinations of languages, such as philosophy of language, the relationships between language and thought, how words represent experience, etc., have been debated at least since Gorgias and Plato in ancient Greek civilization. Thinkers such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778) have argued that language originated from emotions, while others like Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) have argued that languages originated from rational and logical thought. Twentieth century philosophers such as Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951) argued that philosophy is really the study of language itself. Major figures in contemporary linguistics of these times include Ferdinand de Saussure and Noam Chomsky. (Full article...)
Selected language -
Khmer (/kəˈmɛər/ kə-MAIR; ខ្មែរ, UNGEGN: Khmêr [kʰmae]) is an Austroasiatic language spoken by the Khmer people and the official and national language of Cambodia. Khmer has been influenced considerably by Sanskrit and Pali especially in the royal and religious registers, through Hinduism and Buddhism, due to Old Khmer being the language of the historical empires of Chenla, Angkor.
The vast majority of Khmer speakers speak Central Khmer, the dialect of the central plain where the Khmer are most heavily concentrated. Within Cambodia, regional accents exist in remote areas but these are regarded as varieties of Central Khmer. Two exceptions are the speech of the capital, Phnom Penh, and that of the Khmer Khe in Stung Treng province, both of which differ sufficiently enough from Central Khmer to be considered separate dialects of Khmer. (Full article...)Did you know (auto-generated)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/44/Nuvola_apps_filetypes.svg/47px-Nuvola_apps_filetypes.svg.png)
- ... that Astrid Lindgren can be read in 100 languages?
- ... that Nathan Safir, general manager of Texas radio station KCOR for 44 years, was credited with being a pioneer in Spanish-language broadcasting in the United States?
- ... that Chief Rabbi of Madrid Yehuda Benasouli's first language was Castilian Spanish, but he also knew Hebrew, French, Arabic, Ladino, Haketia, and some English?
- ... that Kannada-language author M. V. Seetharamiah established that the Rashtrakuta emperor Nrupatunga did not write the classic Kavirajamarga?
- ... that in 1752, Samuel Kneeland and his partner produced the first Bible in the English language ever printed in America?
- ... that English missionary Reverend Thomas Sparshott co-wrote a book in Swahili, and his daughter Margaret Elwyn Sparshott was responsible as matron for 22 hospitals in World War I?
More did you know -
- ...that the totem pole (pictured) which welcomes visitors to the British Museum was documented for the museum by Rev. John Henry Keen years before it was purchased?
- ...that Missouri French is a nearly extinct dialect of French that developed in what is now the midwestern United States during the colonial period?
- ...that Hindi, Bengali, and Portuguese were all proposed as official languages of the United Nations?
- ...that the Vedda language is a Creole based on Sinhalese of Sri Lanka instead of a dialect?
Categories
Linguistics: Computational linguistics • Grammar • Historical linguistics • Morphology • Phonetics • Phonology • Pragmatics • Reading • Semantics • Sociolinguistics • Syntax • Writing
Languages: Language families • Pidgins and creoles • Sign languages
Linguists: By nationality • Historical linguists • Morphologists • Phoneticians • Phonologists • Sociolinguists • Syntacticians • Translators
Stubs: Constructed languages • Languages • Linguists • Pidgins and creoles • Typography • Vocabulary and usage • Writing systems
Full Language category tree
|
---|
Select [►] to view subcategories
|
Related portals
Selected topic -
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/34/Gaeltachtai_le_hainmneacha2.svg/250px-Gaeltachtai_le_hainmneacha2.svg.png)
Irish phonology varies from dialect to dialect; there is no standard pronunciation of Irish. Therefore, this article focuses on phenomena shared by most or all dialects, and on the major differences among the dialects. Detailed discussion of the dialects can be found in the specific articles: Ulster Irish, Connacht Irish, and Munster Irish.
Irish phonology has been studied as a discipline since the late 19th century, with numerous researchers publishing descriptive accounts of dialects from all regions where the language is spoken. More recently, Irish phonology has been the focus of theoretical linguists. (Full article...)Selected picture -
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/32/Castellano-Espa%C3%B1ol-en.png/350px-Castellano-Espa%C3%B1ol-en.png)
Geographical distribution of the preferential use of the terms castellano (Castilian), in red, vs. español (Spanish), in blue, to refer to the Spanish language
Language News
- 19 July 2024 –
- Ukrainian linguist, nationalist politician, and former People's Deputy Iryna Farion is shot and killed in Lviv, Ukraine by an unknown assailant. (Reuters)
- 27 June 2024 –
- Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy signs a law establishing English as an official language of international communication in Ukraine. (The Kyiv Independent)
- 25 April 2024 – International reactions to the Israel–Hamas war
- The Arabic language spokesperson of the United States Department of State resigns in opposition to U.S. Gaza policy. (Reuters)
Topics
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f0/Icon-notepad.svg/43px-Icon-notepad.svg.png)
Languages of Africa: Arabic, Chadic, Cushitic, Kanuri, Maasai, Setswana, Swahili, Turkana, Xhosa, Yoruba, Zulu, more...
Languages of the Americas: Aleut, Carib, Cherokee, Inuktitut, Iroquois, Kootenai, Mayan, Nahuatl, Navajo, Quechuan, Salish, American Sign Language, more...
Languages of Asia: Arabic, Assamese, Balochi, Bengali, Chinese, Japanese, Hajong, Hebrew, Hindustani, Kannada, Kokborok, Marathi, Khasi, Korean, Kurdish, Malayalam, Manipuri, Meithei, Mongolian, Persian, Rajasthani, Sindhi, Sanskrit, Sylheti, Tamil, Tanchangya, Tulu, Telugu, Tibetan, Thai, Turkish, Vietnamese, Khowar, more...
Languages of Austronesia: Austric, Fijian, Hawaiian, Javanese, Malagasy, Malay, Maori, Marshallese, Samoan, Tahitian, Tagalog, Tongan, Auslan, more...
Languages of Europe: Basque, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English (book), French, German, Greek, Italian, Latin, Leonese, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Spanish, Ukrainian more...
Constructed languages: Esperanto, Ido, Volapük, more...
Agglutinative language, Analytic language, Constructed language, Creole, Context-free language, Extinct language, Dialect, Fusional language, Inflectional language, International language, Isolating language, Language isolate, National language, Natural language, Pidgin, Pluricentric language, Polysynthetic language, Proto-language, Sign language, Spoken language, Synthetic language, Variety (linguistics)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e2/Nuvola_apps_ksig.png/52px-Nuvola_apps_ksig.png)
Applied linguistics, Cognitive linguistics, Accent (dialect), Computational linguistics, Descriptive linguistics, Eurolinguistics, Generative linguistics, Historical linguistics, Lexicology, Lexical semantics, Morphology, Onomasiology, Phonetics, Phonology, Pragmatics, Prescription, Prototype semantics, Psycholinguistics, Semantics, Stylistics, Sociolinguistics, Syntax
See also: List of linguists
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/Phrase_sanskrit.svg/390px-Phrase_sanskrit.svg.png)
Alphabets: Arabic alphabet, Bengali alphabet, Cyrillic alphabet, Hebrew alphabet, Latin alphabet, more...
Other writing systems: Abjad, Abugida, Braille, Hieroglyphics, Logogram, Syllabary, SignWriting, more..
See also: History of the alphabet, Script
Associated Wikimedia
The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:
-
Commons
Free media repository -
Wikibooks
Free textbooks and manuals -
Wikidata
Free knowledge base -
Wikinews
Free-content news -
Wikiquote
Collection of quotations -
Wikisource
Free-content library -
Wikiversity
Free learning tools -
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus
Find a language
Enter an ISO 639 code to find the corresponding language article |